Piping plovers Imani and Searocket, the former an offspring of the famous pair Monty and Rose, are expecting:
A piping plover nest has been spotted at Montrose Beach.
The nest, which has one egg, is the result of a recent pairing between the beloved Imani, a male plover born at Montrose Beach in summer 2021, and Searocket, a female chick released at the beach last summer, according to a Friday news release from the Park District.
The egg is expected to hatch “within a month,” according to the Park District. The nest is “a win for conservation efforts citywide,” Matthew Freer, Park District assistant director of Landscape, Natural Resources and Cultural Resources, said in the news release.
Piping plovers are a federally protected species. In 2019, Monty and Rose landed in Chicago, making it the first time piping plovers chose to nest in the city in five decades. Their arrival was a local sensation, even causing a beachfront music fest to be canceled that year.
Many things could go wrong, of course, and most of the things that could go wrong have legs and mouths. But we're all hoping for a baby piping plover in July!